For the second straight year, owner/driver Vicky Gill showed why she is the best female driver in all of Ireland as she again drove the winner of the Ladbroke’s Vincent Delaney Memorial Series Final for two-year-old pacers Sunday at Portmarnock Trotting Track.-->

Last year it was Vicky and John Gill’s Camden Tino winning the final, this year belonged to their colt, Titanium, who on Saturday won his elimination heat in a track record 2:01.2, coming from off the pace and blowing away the field.

Today it was complete form reversal as Vicky Gill was not going to race from behind on the track labeled 'good' after some hard rain earlier in the afternoon.

North American’s Wally Hennessey was first on the lead off the starting gate with Carmel Camden, who was one of two fillies in the final and had won her elimination heat the day before.

But before the opening quarter-mile was reached in :29.8, Vicky Gill had Titanium on the move and in command. Hennessey was content to sit the pocket trip with Carmel Camden.

Once Titanium settled in on the lead, Vicky Gill backed down the pace and then they were challenged first-over by Coalford Tetrick and driver Stevie Lees to the half-mile in a slow 1:03.1.

Then Alexander Camden (Mick Lord) got into the battle as he come up on the outside as they reached the three-quarters in 1:34, but it was too little too late as Vicky Gill asked Titanium for more and the colt responded, pacing the last quarter mile in :27.7 and drew off from the field at the finish to win by four open lengths in 2:01.7. Alexander Camden was second with Coalford Tetrick third.

“We had raced him once before on the front end,” said Vicky Gill after the race, “But he was not brilliant, he is young and still learning but I always knew once he settled on the front he would get us home and he did. He has been remarkable since we first started training him. I can’t believe now that I’ve won this race two years in a row.”

Sired by Hasty Hall from the mare Another Mattie, Titanium was a 3,400 euro ($4,500 U.S.) yearling purchase. He has now won four of his five lifetime starts. The total purse for the race was 18,000 euros and the winner’s share of the purse was 12,000 euros ($16,000 U.S.), making it the richest pacing series ever in all of Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Titanium was selected at the yearling sales last year by John Gill, Vicky’s father, who trains the stable. Vicky owns Titanium.

“I do everything my daughter tells me to do,” said John Gill smiling from ear to ear after the race. “That’s the secret. We have been fortunate to have some good stock. You are nothing unless you have good stock. I picked this colt out at the sales and I knew we had something special the very first time I jogged him. He just braved up and went about his business and I thought ‘could be, could be’ and here we are today.

“When you can come home in :58 on a sloppy track, that’s pretty good,” said John Gill. “I’m very proud of Vicky. She drove him right and now she has won this great stake two years in a row.”

The Vincent Delaney Memorial was created by Derek and James Delaney of Dublin as a tribute and in memory of their younger brother Vincent, who tragically passed away in 2011 at age 27. He was very active in the family breeding and racing operations at Oakwood Stud.

In the 7,000 euro Paul Murtagh Derby for four-year-old pacers going 1.5 miles, a track record was set by Tarawood Messi and driver Noel Ryan as they traveled the course in 3:03.5.

Ryan had sat patiently as Stamphill (Rocker Laidler) set the early pace fractions, and after they went the mile in 2:00.7, came first-over with Tarawood Messi and wore down the pacesetter, then held off a game No Regrets with driver Anthony Butt from New Zealand for the victory. Trained by W. Flanagan and owned by C. Bennett, Tarawood Messi is by Arts Conguest from the mare One Mile Meg.

In the very next race, the 5,000 euro Oakwood Stud Derby for three-year-old pacers, Rhyds Rainbow and driver Richard Haythornwaite set a course record for that age group going 1.5 miles with a 3:04.2 record. Sired by Hasty Hall, Rhyds Rainbow is from the mare Kentucky Sunshine. He is owned and trained by S. Howard.

Recent Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee Wally Hennessey scored his second win on Irish soil in the Delaney Free For All Trot with Caminetto and nearly tied the track record for trotters.

Starting from post two, Hennessey sent Caminetto right to the lead and never looked back. They cut fractions of :28.2 to the opening quarter, :58.6 to the half-mile and started then to draw away from the field at the three-quarters in 1:28 before cruising home to win by more than eight lengths in 2:00.8. They missed the track mark by two-fifths of a second.

Owned and trained by John Foy, Caminetto is by Gidde Palema from the mare Shy Lady.

“All I had to do was get him off the gate trotting and he really did the rest,” said Hennessey. “He just wanted to trot as fast as he could go and I really had to lean back on him to try and rate the mile. I am sure if I had let him have his head we would have broken the track record.”

“This was one of the great weekends of my life,” said Derek Delaney, who promoted the special weekend of racing and arranged for world renowned and Hall of Fame drivers Wally Hennessey and Anthony Butt along with track announcer Roger Huston to come to Ireland for the race. “Everything and everybody was so great. Words cannot express how wonderful and special this event is to my brother James and myself and our families.”

(With files from Harnesslink)